


SwitchBlade

by EmeryldLuk



Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supergirl (TV 2015), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Ambush, Anti-Hero, Assassins, Autism Spectrum, Crossover, Gen, Murder, No Romance, No Smut, Original Character(s), People Will Die, Psychological, Siblings, Starting Over, completed work, homeless, original main character, wisher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:03:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29526129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeryldLuk/pseuds/EmeryldLuk
Summary: Newfound sisters, Kay and Kita Isshin are having a normal day out when they happen to be present for a murder and take it upon themselves to stop the killer from getting away. However, following this stranger gets them trapped in another universe where they must work against the law to stop the killer from killing again.





	1. A Horrible Sundress

"What do you think?" Kita asked, holding the verdant green dress up to her body in the mirror. Kay raised an eyebrow. "Does it bring out my eyes?"

"Only if you're going to be feeling hungry in an hour," Kay joked. "Since when do you want to wear a dress?"

"Since Mom is alive and I need something to wear besides military dress." Kita gave the dress a light twirl and shook her head. "It's not me. I haven't worn anything pretty since I was twelve."

"Maybe something red?" Kay offered awkwardly. "At least you have an idea of how to dress pretty."

Kita folded the dress over her arm and considered Kay with a calculating look. Kay looked up from the padded seat, worried about what scheme was running through her sister's head.

"Come with me," Kita ordered, pulling Kay from her seat by the hand. They strode through the aisles of blouses and skirts. Kita stopped suddenly in the middle of the dress section and tossed aside the green number.

"kita."

"Shush." Kita picked a black and a blue dress up and held them up in turn against Kay. "You don't have much in the way of curves yet, so at least sizing isn't going to be a nightmare."

"Kita, that was not an invitation to buy me something." Kay pushed the strapless blue dress away.

Kita frowned. "The whole point of today is to buy both of us something. What did you plan on wearing?"

Kay shrugged. "T-shirt and jeans."

"Heck no. Mom and Dad are renewing their vows. It's like they're getting married again. You can't just wear grungy old clothes."

"But everyone says its no big deal. It's just vows."

Kita picked up a flowering beige design with black shoulders. "What's your favorite color?"

"What?"

"Favorite color. Don't you have one?"

Kay shrugged. "Not really."

Kita clicked her tongue and put her current choices back. "No red or black then. Too on the nose. Something fun. Oh, like this." She picked up a flower patterned spaghetti strap.

Kay made a face, but Kita ignored her, picking a couple more in the same vein and pushed them into Kay's arms.

"Go, try them on. You'll feel different about it when wearing one."

"I don't know," Kay muttered, searching for a polite way out.

A shriek filled the department store. The dresses were forgotten in an instant as the girls dashed towards the source.

"MSDF," Kita announced, flashing her ID upon reaching the women's changing rooms. "What happened?"

Two women pointed towards the exit. One, an employee of the store, declared, "A man just killed Lena."

Kita glanced at the heeled foot she could see of the body behind the shelving rack and sprinted for the door. Kay knelt at the woman's side, placing her fingers on the side of the neck to mask her power use.

The world blurred. She could see Lena sorting clothes on the rack. She looked up at a sound and dropped a pair of pants in alarm shortly before being stabbed by a long knife. The man was tall and pasty looking, dressed in black and green, though the fashion style seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"Call security," She instructed, "and don't let anyone else come near."

"Eh," the employee started, "Ah-yeah-sure."

Kay was gone in a flash of lightning, catching up to Kita in a heartbeat.

"Get something," Kita asked. Kay tapped Kita's forehead, transferring the image of the man. Kita blinked. "I saw him. This way!"

They spotted him at the emergency exit with the door closing behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of them, but then the door was shut.

"Keep running," Kay said, putting her hand on Kita's shoulder. They sprinted, phasing through the two inches of metal and gears. The alarm sounded as the electronics shorted out.

"Stop!" Kita yelled. The man whirled on the spot to show frustration and then threw up a hand. The girls flinched, but instead of attacking, a void of dark space opened in the air, swallowing him whole. "Shit."

Kay ran up to where the portal had been.

"Can you follow him?" Kita asked.

"I'll have to replicate his personal quantum jump equation," Kay answered.

Kita rolled her eyes. "A yes would have sufficed."

Kay took a step back and held up a hand, closing her eyes to focus. A void formed in the air in front of them.

"Do you know where it leads?"

"Nope." Kay grabbed Kita's hand and jumped through.

"Look out!" Kita pulled Kay off the street right as a bright red mustang roared past with a blaring honk. Kay stumbled, casting her gaze over the busy city street for some sign of where they were. A couple of teenage boys snapped pictures on their phones of the girls.

"Where are we," Kita muttered, still hanging onto Kay's hand when she made a beeline for the paparazi. "What?"

"You," Kay pointed at the boy with a rock and roll shirt, "Where are we?"

The boy hesitated and shot a nervous look at his friend. "Uh, National City. Hey, are you superheroes?"

"MSDF." Kita held up her ID. "We were chasing a portal jumping killer. See anyone else come through a portal like us?"

The boys shook their heads. "What's MSDF? Oh, are you guys from Europe then? What's your superhero names?"

"We don't have superhero names," Kita snapped. "Kay, did you get the equation right?"

Kay nodded, looking at the buildings once more. "We're in the right vicinity, but landed in a different spot. Maybe someone else saw him."

"Who are you looking for?" The boy asked. "A killer?"

Kay shot him a glare.

He shrugged. "C'mon, it's not every day you meet a powered person. Nothing like getting to see SuperGirl though."

"Who's SuperGirl?" Kay asked. She looked to Kita, but Kita was now on the phone with a hand over her ear.

"Oh, c'mon. Everyone knows SuperGirl. Here, I'll show you a picture." The boy turned his phone around, showing Kay a picture of a blonde woman in a suit and cape. "She's amazing."

"Never heard of her," Kay said. Kita tapped on Kay's shoulder.

"I can't get signal for some reason. Hey, you, can I borrow your phone real quick?"

He nodded. Kita took the phone and dialed the number. After a moment, she scowled. "Shit. Now it's saying the number isn't connected. Where are we?"

Kay took the phone and looked it over. Her eyes turned white and the screen began scrolling through images at insane speeds. The boy started to protest, but Kita flashed a spark under his nose.

"We're in a different universe," Kay announced, handing the phone back after a minute. Her eyes cleared and she sighed. "That would be why my equation was off a bit."

"Well, Fuck," Kita groaned. "Dad is gonna be pissed when he finds out."

"You were doing your job. Anyway, might as well deal with this portal jumper while we're here."

They started down the street. Kita said, "Yeah, my job, but I didn't let him know what was up. We have protocols. Plus, we were supposed to be dress shopping, not traveling to new worlds."

"I didn't even want to go dress shopping in the first place," Kay muttered.

"I know, Kay. Sorry, I am trying to do better as your sister. Uh, don't mean to break things off, but I think we have company."

They looked up to watch the lady in red and blue fly down to them. A band of gold bordered the red of the skirt against the blue of her top. She tossed her head of golden hair and put her hands on her hips.

"I hope you're not looking for trouble," Supergirl said amid the sound of phone cameras going off nearby.

"Were you nearby?" Kita asked.

Supergirl frowned. "Near enough. Look, I don't know which Earth you're from, but I protect this one."

The girls traded looks.

"We're only here because we followed someone else," Kita announced. "A murderer able to jump dimensions."

Supergirl put down her hands and came closer. "Only the one portal was detected. Yours."

Kita folded her arms. "Detected by you or a device? Either can have faults."

"Doesn't matter." Supergirl tensed. "Where is this murderer then?"

"Not here," Kay snapped. "Do you mind getting out of our way?"

Supergirl smiled ever so slightly. "But I can help."

"You can fly, punch things, and generate heat from your eyeballs," Kay sneered and strolled past. "Nothing I couldn't do on my own."

Supergirl startled. "You're from Krypton?"

Kita shook her head. "No. I'm guessing you don't have mutants in this universe?"

"No," Supergirl admitted slowly. Kita patted her on the arm and indicated they should follow Kay down the sidewalk.

"Kay is what we call a Wisher on our Earth," Kita explained. "She makes a wish, like wishing to fly, and she gets the power to do that. So, any power you have, she could have as well if she wanted."

"Fascinating. And you? Are you a Wisher as well?"

"No. I'm a telekinetic Pyromancer. However, you can help us."

"How? Kay seems to disagree."

Kita considered Kay's hunched shoulders. "Kay isn't accustomed to being out of her depth, or asking for help. We've never been to your world before, Supergirl. We could use information."

"I would love to. Sorry, I'm Supergirl."

"Kita, and my little sister, Kay. So, how did you find us so quickly?"

Supergirl gave a little shrug. "That would be the D.O.D. They specialize in aliens, but they also detected a quantum disturbance in downtown. Ah, 'scuse me a sec."

Supergirl stepped away, talking to someone on her comms. Kita jogged to catch up with Kay.

"Hang on, Kay. No need to rush off on us."

"Having a lovely chat?" Kay glanced back.

"If the people here could detect your portal, I'm sure they can find the other one."

"Mom never needed help," Kay muttered.

"Mom knew to accept it, though." Kita tried to ease Kay's nerves with a smile. "Dad told me there were plenty of times when she leaned on others."

Kay glared at Kita. "You are not helping."

"Sorry. Look, unless you know of a way to find this guy right now, I think we should let her help us."

"Fine." Kay turned, jamming her hands into her pockets. "But this is your idea, not mine."

"Good news and bad news," Supergirl said, rejoining them. "Bad news is no other disturbance has been detected."

"And the good news?" Kita inquired.

"I can bring you to the D.O.D. Alex wants to ask questions about the person you're chasing and you'll be on site once we find them."

"That's great!" Kita shot Kay a hopeful look. "You might be able to help them."

Kay rolled her eyes. "Yup lovely. Hey, Supergirl, can you picture the building in your mind for me?"

Supergirl nodded, but frowned. "Why?"

"I need to see where I'm going or I might end up in a wall. Thanks."

In a burst of Cinnamon and smoke, Kita and Kay appeared in the middle of a polished steel lobby with an open balcony at their backs. The ceiling towered three floors up with stairs on either side. Down the tiled floor was an Ops center with three walls covered in monitors and several computer stations.

Kita took an experimental sniff. "Cinnamon? Isn't it usually brimstone?"

"Must be the different universe. It's not a simple teleport."

"Hands in the air!" Voices yelled, hands flying to weapons. Kita raised her hands slowly. "I said hands in the air."

Kay scowled at the butch woman in the jet black uniform and dark brown bob haircut. "Put that down before you hurt yourself," Kay growled.

Alex Danvers took a step closer. "Don't even think about it."

Kita whispered, "Play nice."

"I hate people." Kay raised her hands, but as she did, every table and chair that was not bolted down rose up as well.

"Would you not?" Kita said. "That is not helping."

"If they put down the guns, I put down the furniture. You might note, Sis. I did not take the weapons."

"What is going on?" Supergirl asked, flying in through the open window. "I said they were nice."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You didn't say they could teleport."

Supergirl put her hands on her hips. "Well, you can put the guns down now. Please, Alex?"

With some reluctance, the guns were stowed and everyone moved back. The tables and chairs settled back to the floor with the same care they'd been lifted.

"Sorry about that. You surprised us is all. Come on in." Supergirl motioned for them to follow. "This is Alex Danvers, Operations commander. And this J'onn, D.O.D. Commander.

She motioned to a tall, dark skinned man with a large muscular build and a very stern frown.

Kita struck a salute. "Kita isshin. MSDF Captain. Uh, but I guess you don't know what that is, do you?"

J'onn gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Military, I assume?"

"Para military that specializes in Enhanced targets and threats."

"Pardon my concern, but you seem a bit young for a Captain," J'onn said.

"My dad runs the company, so I started fairly young." Kita turned and put a hand on Kay's shoulder. "This is Kay, my little sister."

"A pleasure. Now, if you please, Alex will debrief you."

Behind Kita's back, Kay muttered about debriefing and making the meeting brief.

J'onn's eyes flickered with caution when Kay strolled back into the ops center after only twenty minutes had passed. He watched her as she moved to stand behind one of the desks. How she seemed to know that was where Brainy was working on his detection algorithm, J'onn couldn't quite understand.

"I'm using telepathy, Commander," Kay said. "So, please relax."

"Supergirl said you're something called a Wisher?"

"That's what we call it." Kay peered a little closer at the screen. "Interesting."

"What is?" Brainy asked carefully.

"Your thoughts. Both of you got nervous when I mentioned telepathy. Hiding something?"

"We all have our secrets," J'onn avoided. "Any results, Brainy?"

"Not yet, Sir."

"Useless," Kay muttered and broke away, scanning the rest of the room. Brainy shot her a glare over his shoulder. Kay came to a stop again in front of a screen that was showing the news. She was quiet long enough for J'onn to become distracted dealing with some other event, so it took him a moment to respond when she spoke again.

Kay pointed to the screen, with Lena Luthor in the middle of an interview about her newest tech launch. "Who is that?"

J'onn did a double take and signed the requisition in front of him. "Lena Luthor. She's a big name in this city. Why?"

"Just looks like, oh, Lena. Of course."

"Someone you know on your Earth?"

"Someone that is dead. I can't believe I didn't think of it."

J'onn puzzled, "Think of what?"

"He's an inter-dimensional Assassin!" Kay spun around and pulled Brainy away from his desk. "You're not going to find disturbances, because he's trained for stealth."

Brainy protested, "Hey, What do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry, but I can do this better than you." Kay typed a few commands into the computer, and then placed her palm on the monitor. Static flitted across the screen, broken by lines of binary code.

"What are you doing?" Brainy lurched to his feet as other screens filled with the same static. he grabbed her arm and pulled her off the computer. Kay flinched away with a gasp. Brainy made no attempt to restrain her as he saw the computers all go back to normal. "What was that?"

"Why did you break my connection?" Kay demanded. "I almost had it."

"Had nothing. All you were doing was messing with the system. Get out of the way."

"Fine, I'll do this the hard way. Tell Kita this was a terrible idea." Cinnamon and smoke filled the space where she'd been.

"Sarah, did you find out what caused the alarm to go off?" Lena asked her assistant, accepting a fresh cup of coffee.

Sarah shook her head. "Security is looking into, but nothing has shown up on the cameras."

"Call IT and have them check for a glitch," Lena instructed with a sip and sighed happily. "I have to go over the lab results before leaving today, so if you could make sure that gets handled?"

"Consider it done. By the way, Kara left you a message saying she might be a bit late for dinner later."

Lena chuckled. "Always something. Thank you."

Sarah nodded and walked out. Neither of them saw the light shift in the corner of the room.

Kay waited. Crouched in the corner by the coffee table and a fake plant, she stayed like that as the minutes ticked by. Lena called for another cup of coffee after an hour had passed. Two phone calls came and went. Sarah came in to report that a bug had been found in the alarm system and IT was fixing it as they spoke.

The sun set and Lena started to pack up her papers. Kay fought back an urge to sneeze.

"Sarah," Lena called, flipping through a packet. When there was no response, Lena moved to the door. "Sarah? Before you leave-"

With the door half open, Lena cut short as a gloved hand shot up to cover her mouth and pushed. She stumbled, falling away from the man in streamlined black and green. He held a long curved knife in his other hand.

A blast of compressed air hit him as he raised the knife to attack. Kay materialized out of the corner, pushing him into the wall with a second gust.

"You!" He spat in surprise.

"Me," Kay mocked.

"How are you here?"

"Magic. Lena, get out of here."

Lena picked herself up, casting looks between them. "What's going on? Are you a friend of Supergirl's?"

Kay groaned, "Oh, for Heaven's sake," and stopped pinning the assassin to portal Lena away.

The assassin lunged at Kay. She dropped out of the way, rolling up on his right. He ducked a high kick and closed the distance.

Kay phased through him and he fumbled into Lena's desk.

Moving up to the building with D.O.D. troopers, Kita stopped at the sound of glass shattering. They barely had time to react before lethal shards of window pane rained down on them. Kita summoned white hot flames, forming a barrier above the troopers and herself.

Cinnamon filled the air with a crash. Kita whirled around and ducked a stray projectile.

Kay kicked at the assassin's head, but he ducked, cutting her leg in passing.

"Duck," Kita yelled as she formed giant hands of flame. Kay dropped and rolled. The assassin lunged backwards, but the flames only grew in size, trapping him in a warm, but harmless globe.

A void formed in the air behind Kita, and the assassin dropped out on her, knife sinking deep into her shoulder.

"Kita!" Kay surged over, carrying the assassin clear through the troopers and the main doors. Glass splintered around them.

Swinging wide, the assassin moved away from Kay. His eyes shifted over the scene, now holding a look of frustration.

"This isn't over," he declared and opened another portal. Kay flung up her hand, holding it open after he was gone.

"Kita," Kay yelled, turning to look for her sister, "We have to follow."

Kita winced, pressing a hand to her shoulder. "Coming."

Kay considered the wound. "Sorry, you can hang back on the other side if you want."

Kita ruffled Kay's hair. "Don't you worry about me. I won't bleed out."

"Hey, who said I was worried?"

Kita grinned and jumped through the portal.

The other side was dark but for a single flickering lamp post at the end of the alley. Brick walls stretched four stories up on both sides with the occasional window.

Residents were awoken by the sound of yelling and an explosion. Those that looked outside saw three people fighting and flames moving as if alive. A couple kids pressed their faces to the glass, eager to watch the fight play out.

Attacks were traded. The singular lamp post exploded as lightning struck. Those still watching saw one of the three get hit in the chest by that lightning and go flying off into the night.

"Kita! Kita!" Kay dashed to her sister. Kita slumped against the wall with a groan. She'd taken more damage in that last exchange. Blood stained her clothes and dripped down her face.

"I'm fine." Kita tried to put on a strong face. "He's going to get away."

"I hit him with enough juice to fry a tree. He's not going to get far. Shit, that looks bad." Kay materialized a towel to press to Kita's stomach wound.

"I've had worse," Kita joked.

Kay frowned. "Oh, please. The only one here who's had worse is me, and that's nothing to brag about. You need a hospital."

"Not going to heal me yourself?"

"The only healing I ever learned was used to save Mom. It's too complicated for me to just whip out of nothing. I could make it worse."

Kita put an arm around Kay's shoulders, taking a tentative step. "You better fix that then. Even mom knows how to heal."

Kay thought of their mother sourly. "I'm pretty sure that's more force of will than anything practical."

"That sounds about right," Kita grunted. Supporting her every step, Kay walked with Kita to the end of the alley. They paused, Kay strengthening her grip as Kita leaned more.

"It's so quiet," Kay said. "You think everyone is asleep?"

Kita muttered incoherently.

"Stay with me," Kay pleaded. Kita's head drooped and her legs gave out. "Kita!"

"Don't you give up on me," Kay said as she fought to keep Kita from falling. After a moment, Kay laid Kita on the pavement and put pressure on the stomach wound again. "Don't you dare."

Kita mumbled something, eyelids fluttering.

"Hello?" Someone called. Kay looked up, giving herself night vision to make out someone wearing some kind of armor. Smoke trailed him as he sped down the street and skidded to a halt meters away. "I heard an explosion."

"What's with the outfit?" Kay asked.

He approached. "I'm Ingenium, a hero. Are you hurt?"

Kay hesitated, but Kita coughed hard right then. "No, but my sister is. Is there a hospital nearby?"

Ingenium knelt next to Kita. "Looks like she's lost a lot of blood. Miss, can you hear me?" He lightly grasped Kita's wrist as she mumbled in response.

Tapping the side of his helmet, he said, "Enigma, I need you to alert the police to a stabbing near the corner of Sugihara and Toru. I have one wounded in need of immediate attention and a witness."

Kay seized his wrist when he tried to lift Kita up. "What are you doing?" She growled.

"Taking her to the hospital. An ambulance will take too long. It's going to be okay."

"I'm coming with."

He shook his head. "I can't carry both of you and maintain speed. The police will be here in a couple of minutes. They can give you a ride to the hospital."

Kay started to explain she could run as fast as him when she remembered the assassin and changed her mind. Ingenium scooped Kita into his arms and took off down the street. Kay looked around and then sprinted to where she remembered sending the assassin.

At the other end of the alley, she found scorch marks and blood stains that traveled for a few meters and then vanished. A check for residual energy showed that he'd portaled away, but not out of the dimension.

A siren wailed, growing closer. Kay swore to herself and shot back to the street to wait for the police.


	2. Hospital Food

"Soda?"

Kay darted a look up from the hospital bed where Kita lay asleep after surgery. It was Ingenium, but he'd taken off his helmet, revealing a square, clean shaven jaw and short, dark blue hair. He had a can of something carbonated in each hand.

"No, thanks. Caffeine makes my powers go haywire," Kay said, dropping her gaze.

"Can I get you anything else, then? I think they have some juice."

"No, I'm okay."

Ingenium pulled up a chair and sat down. "Something on your mind, Kid? Your sister's going to be fine, if you're still worried."

"It's nothing," Kay mumbled. "Just annoyed at myself for letting him get away."

"The one that stabbed her? Sorry, the detective filled me in a little. You shouldn't blame yourself. Let us Pros handle chasing down the criminal."

Kay propped up her head on her arms. "Pros? The guy can create dimensional portals. To follow him you have to copy the quantum energy signature exactly or you end up somewhere completely different. If I hadn't been distracted, I'd have been able to hit him with more than 500 joules and he wouldn't be who knows where by now."

Ingenium's lips twitched upward in amusement. He cracked open his soda and took a long drink. "What's your quirk?"

"My what?"

"Your quirk," he repeated. "You said you hit him with five hundred joules?"

"Oh, I'm a Wisher."

He looked about to ask for details, but a knock at the door interrupted.

"Pardon me, Ingenium," The detective said with a nod of his head, "but we're finishing up for the night."

"Got it." Ingenium nodded. "Then perhaps one of you could give this girl a ride home."

"Of course."

"I'm not leaving," Kay said.

The detective sighed. "Miss, you can't stay here. Your parents will be worried."

"Oh, you have no idea," she muttered. "We should have been home hours ago."

He missed the hint of irony in her tone. "Perhaps you'd like to give them a call, then. Let them know what happened."

"Can't."

"Sorry?"

Kay sat back in her chair. "Can't. They live in a different universe."

The detective half chuckled. "Right. Okay, rural folks. What's the address?"

"I'm not joking. There's no one to call. No where for me to go, except here. How hard is it for you to understand that?"

Ingenium stood up, holding up his hands in both directions. "Woah, there. No need for anyone to lose their temper. Detective, is it really impossible for her to stay one night?"

The detective made an unhappy face. "I'll talk to the staff, but I think one night is the most they'll agree to." Making an about face, the man walked away.

Ingenium let out a sigh of relief. "The whole thing about your parents though, did you run away or something?"

"No. Kinda impossible to run away from someone that makes you wear a GPS tracker."

Ingenium smirked. "Alright. Try to get some rest then."

Kay settled back down with her head on her arms. A nurse came back a little later with a blanket and turned off the lights.

Kita woke up from her drugged sleep to the sun rising and Kay drooling on the bed sheets. Moving caused first her shoulder to pinch and then her ribs. Kita took in the hospital room and the IV hooked up to her arm.

"Awe, you do care," Kita mused and found her throat a bit dry. A bit of searching found the remote with a "nurse" button on the bed stand.

When the nurse opened the door. Kita motioned for quiet and indicated Kay still asleep.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse whispered.

"Sore," Kita whispered back. "Can I get some water?"

The nurse nodded, went away and came back with a cup of water and straw to help Kita drink.

"If you're feeling up to it," the nurse asked softly, "I'd like to check your condition."

Kita nodded, trying not to move too much. The nurse did her thing, checking heart beat and breathing and looking at Kita's bandages. Kay stirred temporarily, but went right back to sleep.

"You're mending faster than we expected. Do you have a healing quirk?"

"You could say I have fire in my blood," Kita joked. "No, not healing, just an extremely good immune system. How long was I out?"

"Just the one night. So you know, the police might be by later to ask questions now that you're awake."

"Understood."

Kita stayed awake a little longer, but dozed off easily enough in time. When she woke again, Kay was awake, but mindlessly playing with the blanket.

"Hey."

Kay perked up. "You're awake."

"You were drooling earlier," Kita teased.

"I was not," Kay protested.

"Were too."

Kay's face pinched up around her mouth. "Whatever. You're awake."

"I am. So, what happened? I remember someone approaching, but the rest is a bit fuzzy."

"A hero named Ingenium. He heard us fighting and came to see what was happening."

"Another world with superheroes then?"

"Sorta," Kay said with a grimace. "I mean, I didn't ask much, but from what I could glean, having powers is more common place here. He seemed on good terms with the police."

"Well, that should make things easier for us to move around."

"For you," Kay muttered, her mood dropping again. "I'm just a kid to them. You should've heard them insisting on calling Mom and Dad."

"Oh, right. That's going to be awkward." Kita slowly sat up, wincing at how her muscles ached. "Come to think of it, we haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday. I am not looking forward to hospital food. Or the bill."

"The bill?" Kay reached over to help her move the pillows for support.

"Well, America is notorious for having the worst healthcare system. Do you know where we are?"

"Japan, Hosu City. I had to read a cop's mind to learn that though."

"Japan. I've never had the chance before. Dad was always 'When you have more experience' whenever anything overseas came up." Kita laughed and regretted it as her ribs complained. "That hurt."

"Should I get a nurse?"

Kita shook her head once. "No, I'll be fine."

A knock at the door preceded it opening. The detective from the night before bowed his head in greeting. "Morning. I'm Detective Hiroshi. Kay and I spoke last night."

Kita motioned for him to enter. "Hello, detective. I'm Kita. Any news?"

"I'm afraid not. We have been unable to track down your assailant at the moment. We have put the sketch provided by Kay's description in circulation, so if he resurfaces, we'll be ready."

"I see."

"May I?" He indicated the chair and sat at Kita's nod. "I'd like to know if either of you remember anything new that might help us in tracking him down. Kay, you described his quirk as a dimensional portal. Can you be more specific?"

Kay sat up with a sigh and pointed at the wall. A spherical void formed five feet tall along the wall. The detective nearly jumped out of the chair.

"Specific enough for you?"

"Very specific," Hiroshi stammered. "Your quirk is impressive."

"So, I'm told," Kay sneered. "I already told you everything last night."

"Routine follow up, Young Lady. I need to get your sister's account as well in any case."

"It's okay, Kay," Kita said. "This is normal, I promise. Why don't you go find us some food while I talk to the detective."

Kay glowered her way out of the room and Kita sighed to herself.

"Sorry about her," Kita apologized. "She's had a very tough life and isn't all that great with taking direction."

"Does that have anything to do with your parents being out of the picture?" Hiroshi took out his notebook.

Kita paused before nodding. "You could say that. Mom was basically not there since I was three and our Dad's work kept him traveling all the time. I wasn't even there for her until this past year. Boarding schools and then having to work."

"That does sound rough for anyone. Are you two on your own then?"

"Not exactly, but if you wanted to send us home, that's a bit impossible at the moment." Kita tried to sit in a way that didn't send spikes of pain through her liver.

"Kay said something about that. Living in a different universe. I don't quite understand."

"Think of it like being from a different planet. Not that we are. Just an example if that helps."

He nodded, making a note. "Alright. In your own words, then, tell me what you remember about last night."

A little bit of asking around provided Kay with the information she needed to find food, though as hospital food went, it was hardly anything to sneeze at. Walking back to Kita's room, Kay overheard a couple of officers talking with the nurses.

She paused at a distance and watched as the two nurses broke away to usher patients down the hall or into rooms. The officers glanced her way and then moved on, speaking to others in hushed tones.

The food tray fell with a crash in Kay's footsteps. She threw open the door so hard it nearly bounced back on her. Kita stopped talking, mouth hanging open.

"out," was all Kay said, eyes boring into Detective Hiroshi. He managed to remain calm, responding with an even tone.

"Your sister and I are still-"

"I said out!" The window cracked.

Hiroshi stood up. "Young Lady, this is no way-"

"OUT!" The window shattered and a gust of cold air rushed into the room. This time the detective flinched.

"I will not," he determined, drawing himself up. "There are laws, and using your quirk to inflict harm is illegal, even in self defense. I was willing to overlook it because of your age, but if you plan on threatening me, you leave me with no choice."

"You never planned on giving me one. Your goons are out there, making sure everyone stays clear."

"For safety," Hiroshi assured. "You've misunderstood."

"I misunderstand nothing," Kay growled. "I can read your thoughts and right now you're wishing you had trusted your gut last night."

"Yes! I knew you were trouble then and should have done something sooner."

Having opted not to speak as yet, Kita finally gathered her thoughts. "What are you implying, Detective?"

"Kita, I'm sorry about this, but Kay hurt someone last night and I can't just ignore that now."

Kita cast a worried look at Kay. "You can't. Both of you. Please, stop."

Hiroshi held up a hand, signaling something. Kay turned to see the officers gathering around the doorway to block her in. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I really wish there was another way."

"There is," Kay said and shoved Hiroshi out the broken window.

"Kay, no," Kita screamed, trying to get up and falling down instead. "What are you thinking?"

Kay flung up a barrier around the hospital room, causing a couple officers to run straight into it in their rush to defend the detective.

"They are not locking us up."

Kita scolded, "And you just made it worse. You could have gotten off with a slap on the wrist. Community service. Now, you might have killed him, Kay!"

Kay stopped where she was, her expression split. Kita hoped what she said was enough, but after a tense moment, Kay shook her head.

"I had to. You're hurt. I need to be here to protect you. I'm sorry, but I didn't have a choice."

"There is always a choice," Kita stressed. "Oh, Kay, has nothing since we met taught you that?"

Kay knelt, helping Kita to sit on the bed. "I learned that family is important and I don't want to be alone ever again."

"But I can't leave, Kay. Like you said, I'm hurt." Kita folded Kay's hands in hers. "I have to stay here until the doctors say I'm okay. You get that right?"

"But if they arrested me, I couldn't see you."

She sighed. "Then, you have to run. Not forever. Just until I can leave. Okay?"

Kay nodded and leaned in to wrap Kita in a hug. Kita complained, citing pain in her shoulder.

"I'll check in," Kay whispered. "I won't go far."

"Just stay out of sight, okay?"

"It's what I'm good at," Kay promised and broke away. Kita wiped away a tear.

Kay almost forgot she'd stopped being a homeless mutant for four months. It was all too easy to remember that summer and stealing to get by. All too easy to slip back into old habits of slowing down time to take a wallet or watch.

The first day, she stole a sandwich out of a bin and hunkered down to wait for the heat to die down. Stealing a phone made a good way to waste time scrolling through the internet and playing random games.

The second day, she went back to the hospital and found they'd moved Kita to another room and posted a guard. Kay waved from the window and left before she could be seen. That day's meal was a leftover pizza.

The third day, the phone ran out of battery, so Kay wandered town instead. After a few odd looks, Kay realized her clothes were covered in three day old blood stains and dirt. She spent an hour searching for replacements. Ending up with a new pair of jeans, a T-shirt sporting some figure called All Might, and a stylized red and blue hoodie, Kay went back to her aimless wandering.

The city was vibrant and busy. Kay hid any time she saw someone in a special outfit, assuming they were heroes like Ingenium. In fact, Kay saw Ingenium a couple times out on patrol in the afternoon.

Stopping in front of a convenience store that evening, Kay broke out of wondering what to eat for dinner at the sound of raised voices.

"Hand over the cash, nice a quick, or else!"

Through the main door, she could see two men of a sort. One, holding a gun at the manager, had thick scale covered skin on his arms and horns curling backwards from his brow like a goat's. The other would have looked normal, if not for the tail whipping back and forth at his ankles and the cat ears on his head. The ears twitched back and forth and he raised his nose to sniff at the air.

Kay took out her phone, though it was dead, and pretended to be absorbed in the screen. The door chimed when she pulled it open.

"Bad luck, little lady," The catboy hissed, raising his own gun. Kay looked up, meeting his bright blue eyes.

"What?" she said.

"Phone, Wallet, Jewelry, now."

Kay handed him the phone. Catboy looked it over and darted a confused look at Kay.

"This thing's dead. What-"

"Sit." Kay's voice grated in the air. Catboy's eyes glazed over and he sat cross-legged on the floor like an obedient pre-schooler.

"Tsuri?" the other wondered, slowly turning his head, but keeping the gun on the manager. "What did you do to my friend?"

"Drop the gun."

Both guns hit the tiles. Kay looked around and confirmed no other robbers were in the store.

"How did you do that?" The manager asked, his face beading with sweat.

Kay stepped around Catboy and picked up a bag of chips. "Hypnotism. Are you alright?"

The manager nodded. "terrified but fine. Thanks."

"I'll kill you for that," The one still standing growled. Kay glared at him.

"Give me your wallet," she ordered. He came to a sudden stop, with one arm raised for an attack and the other automatically going to his back pocket.

She opened his wallet and took out a few bills before giving it back.

"Sit," she said. He did so, frustration marking his features even as he obeyed. Kay put the chips on the counter and went to the back for a bottle of juice.

The door chimed. "Everything alright?" Ingenium asked, seeing the two sitting peacefully on the floor and the discarded weapons. Kay froze where she was, out of sight behind the shelves.

"All sorted, Ingenium, thank you. This young girl just hypnotized them into sitting."

"What girl?"

"Her?"

Feeling the manager pointing to where she was, Kay took a deep breath and stepped into sight. "Hi, again," she muttered.

She could feel him frowning even with his helmet on. He said, "Kay, you can't be using your powers like this. Leave it to the Pros."

"I was here and you weren't," she protested. "They had guns! No one got hurt! I just told them to sit down."

Ingenium sighed. "There are laws about this kind of thing for a reason. What are you even doing? Where's Kita?"

"What do you care?" Kay folded her arms, calculating the best way to get past him.

"I care because you seem to be a good kid, with an amazing quirk and no idea of how to fit in because of it. I heard what happened with Detective Hiroshi."

"You don't know anything," she snapped and slowed down time. His hand inched its way up from a relaxed position. Kay grabbed the chips and a chocolate bar and left the money on the counter. When time resumed she was long gone.


	3. Shadows and Sunshine

"your personal affects. I'm sorry we had to look them over to verify your story."

Kita took the ziploc bag with her phone, wallet, keys, penknife, and flashlight. The officer watched her unpack the bag into the new clothes she'd changed into.

"Will that be all, Officer?"

"I need to warn you that if you or your sister are still around after tomorrow night, we will consider you acting against the law. You will be arrested for aiding and abetting. She will be arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon on two counts."

"Noted," Kita said. She checked that everything in her wallet was still in place.

He had a look on his face that suggested he didn't like her tone, but said nothing else. Kita took a step to the door and saw he was still between her and the opening.

"Excuse me?"

With a grunt, he shifted to the side. Kita strode past without looking back.

Kita walked three blocks from the hospital when a hissing noise attracted her attention. Peeking out from behind a dumpster, Kay raised her hand in a small wave.

The sisters embraced the other tight. Kay buried her face into Kita's shoulder and Kita leaned her head on Kay's.

"It's good to see you," Kita said.

"I thought you'd never be let out," Kay admitted.

"Nonsense. They had no reason to." Kita glanced down with a frown. "Are those new clothes?"

"Couldn't go walking around with your blood on me, could I?" Kay pushed away, looking hurt. "And don't you go chastising me for anything. I survived."

"You didn't go causing anymore trouble though?"

"No, I kept to myself. Mostly."

"Well, you look okay." Kita brushed a bit of dirt from Kay's arm. "So, here's the deal I was given. We go home, leave this world behind. Let them handle the dimension jumper if he's still around. Or they arrest us."

"That's stupid," Kay said. "What are they going to do, shoot at him?"

"That's the deal, Kay, and I want to take it. We just happened to be there when he killed the first Lena. We don't get paid to chase killers to other dimensions."

"I don't get paid at all."

"Your point?"

Kay shrugged.

Kita asked, "Is this really worth it? Kay, look at me. It's not our problem anymore."

Kay dropped her eyes the moment she saw the darkness in Kita's. Kita sighed.

"Kay."

"I don't know if I can."

About to scold Kay for being stubborn, Kita stopped short and let the silence hang between them.

"What?"

Kay jammed her hands into her pockets. "Opening portals that open in the same universe is easy if I have coordinates or an image to work with. But up till now, I've been copying his work and we only jumped worlds twice. I don't have enough data to be sure the next portal won't land us on some planet with no air or something."

"Oh, Dear- When were you going to tell me?" Kita put a hand to her head and turned to the right.

"I didn't think I'd need to. If I can get close to him outside of combat, I can copy his power properly. I thought, we stay, we catch him, we take him back to our Earth as a prisoner."

"And you can't figure it out on your own, little genius?"

"Sure, if I have TIME! You know, that thing you're telling me we don't have."

"Don't yell at me," Kita warned. "This is your fault. You panicked. You're lucky Detective Hiroshi is still alive despite that fall. Five stories, Kay. Five."

"I'm sorry no one taught me how to deal with the police!" Kay motioned broadly with both arms. "The only thing I was expected to do was cut bait and scram. Anyone that got in the way of that ended up dead!"

"How about following my lead for once? Did it occur to you that I am perfectly capable of negotiating with police? It was only like half my job with the MSDF."

"I've known you for three months, Kita! Four months ago, I was a random kid on the street trying to stay under the radar. You could never understand how hard it was for me to trust dad. To trust anyone."

Kita scowled. "You want to talk trust? Try getting people double your age to take your orders because they think they know better than a shrimpy twerp. I had to double check everything. You never tried to trust me or Dad. You just do everything yourself without waiting for others."

"It's not outside of my abilities," Kay shot back. "I'm a Wisher. There's nothing I can't do on my own. Mom would tell you to let me work."

"Mom isn't here!" Kita's eyes flashed from black to red and back. "Mom is at home, wondering where we are and unable to do anything about it. At least, if she were here, we wouldn't be stuck!"

"I just need time," Kay pressed.

"No, you need a time out," Kita yelled over her. "You're a brat who's never had a lick of accountability in your entire life. You lose your cool and people get hurt, or die. You're a monster."

Kay bit her lip. "If that's how you feel, maybe being together isn't such a great idea. After all, Monsters should stick together."

A cloud of acrid smelling smoke took Kay's place. Kita lunged, hoping to grab hold of something, but only grasped at air.

"Damnit, Kay, I didn't mean it," Kita cried, heard only by the rats in the dumpster.

The days passed. Unable to find Kay, Kita found shelter with the local homeless. There she was able to leisurely learn about the world, though getting by proved difficult. It took a couple weeks of searching before she was able to find someone willing to hire her on with no papers. Another couple weeks before she had enough as a down payment for an apartment.

Every now and then Kita could feel someone watching, but never saw who. She hoped it was Kay. The papers talked about a new criminal in town that was effortlessly evading heroes and police alike. The one clear photo showed Kay in that red and blue hoodie, hood up and a mask over the bottom half of her face patterned in mirrored black and white.

Then, one morning, Kita found an envelope stuffed full of cash in the middle of her brand new, and empty, apartment. The only hint that Kay had left it was a note included that read, 'for some new clothes or whatever'.

Kita wrote back and left the letter by the balcony door. It was gone three days later.

Kay, I'm sorry.

That probably doesn't mean much to you, but I need to say it. I'm sorry I said you're a monster.

You're right. We haven't known each other long and I only started being a sister to you a couple months ago. I still care. I worry that you'll get yourself into a mess and have trouble getting out. I worry that you'll meet someone with a quirk just as formidable as yours.

Dad kept telling me to try and understand you. To give you a chance, because if not us, then who? It's hard. Until you showed up, he barely even cared to show up outside of work. Maybe I still hate you for that. For being the one he stayed for.

You still have a horrible temper and a habit of hitting first. Something for both of us to work on. You need to learn patience, and I need to learn faith. My door is always open, though you obviously don't need it to be unlocked.

Kita.

Kay read the letter twice before folding it up into her pocket. Having a sister was confusing. First she hated Kay, then she was friendly, and now whatever the heck this was.

A snowflake landed on her nose. Kay brought up her knees and watched the snow drifting against the black of the clouded night sky.

Christmas came and went. Kita left notes every few days, but Kay only stopped by when she was nearby, so sometimes she found more than one. Kita talked about working in a locally owned cafe run by someone with a mouse quirk. She wrote about the neighbors or whatever was on TV. Kay kept the letters, but still had no clue what to do about them. She left more money for Kita. She wondered why Kita never asked where it came from.

In the early days, Kay didn't run into other villains much. She wasn't doing it for fun after all, and most of the guys in that business had bad attitudes. She only starting talking to them in order to pick their brains about the city. This of course meant proving herself.

Robbing the bank proved easy. She provided cover while the two that hatched the plan filled their bags. When the police arrived, she melted every bit of metal, from cars to belts, giving her partners a clean getaway.

They ran three similar operations in those two months. Kay played cat-and-mouse with Ingenium during one heist. In the end, she left him high and dry on the other side of the city.

She did her own thing in between, breaking into places like the police station or security offices, looking for information of any kind. Knocked out a couple of thugs harassing civilians.

On less active days, she practiced opening portals. It always went badly, dropping her onto an Earth covered in lava instead of water, or an Earth still in the prehistoric era. She nearly flooded a back street by opening a portal into the Ocean on the day after Christmas.

The news started calling her Switchblade some point after the second bank heist in December. Since she always wore the inkblot mask, no one had been able to identify her to the authorities. Kay guessed there were a couple like Ingenium who had figured it out, but didn't say for some reason.

Not that Kay really paid attention, but Kita did, and Kay sometimes saw news bulletins on her recent exploits. She didn't mind the name, but didn't care either.

"Yo, Switchblade," Nojirou called out, raising a hand in a wave. Kay glanced over at him. He was a tall, skinny guy with greenish skin and quills instead of hair. Under his arm, he carried a supermarket bag and a newspaper.

"Why are you calling me that?" Kay asked.

"It's your villain name," He explained, handing her the paper. The headline was about how she'd broken into a government building the night before. "And you are getting quite the reputation for being uncatchable."

Kay shrugged and handed the paper back. He offered her a sandwich. She accepted.

They were in one of the many back street gathering places. It was empty now because most of the homeless and scourge had gone to warmer places. Open to the sky, the high way ran overhead with a field of grass on the other side.

A small fire burned in a firepit in front of Kay. Nojirou settled on an old crate to eat his own sandwich.

"Speaking of Villain things, have you heard of the association?"

Kay shook her head.

He explained between mouthfuls. "This creepy guy name Tomura heads it, but its what it sounds like. A bunch of us villains working together. I know you're not big into the whole group thing, but we've got a plan going right now to take down All Might and I would love it if you could join us. I'm not saying I want you to fight him. Tomura has someone for that already, but to make sure things go off without a hitch. You know, skills like yours."

"Killing the number one hero? Is that smart?" Kay licked vinegar off her fingers.

"Course. Without him, the top is Endeavor, and he's nowhere near as enigmatic. Without All Might, less people will be inspired to be Heroes. Makes our work easier."

"Why bother me with this? Don't you have enough people?"

"It's not about numbers. You didn't even look at the rest of the paper." Nojirou shook the paper out again, pointing to a smaller article about All Might. "See, he started working as a teacher at UA this semester. Means we have to strike while he's surrounded by students and other Pro Heros. Numbers help, but if that's all we got, might as well not go at all. C'mon. We're getting paid top dollar to do this."

"So, you want the extra muscle?"

"Exact-ly," Nojirou exclaimed with glee. "Work with us and we can deal a major blow to the future generation."

Kay shrugged. "I'm not so interested in all that, but the exercise would be nice."

"You're not interested in dissuading your generation?"

"I'm not a villain for fun, Nojirou. Just happens I have to work outside the law right now. So, you want extra muscle- fine- but I'm taking pay up front."

"Tomura won't like that," Nojirou muttered.

"Then we better impress on him why I'm so valuable." Kay stood up and stretched.

"This way, this way," Nojirou mused, half to himself, as he lead the way into a grungy underground bar. The first thing Kay noticed was the bartender with no face, only a body of black opaque fog squeezed into a suit. Blazing eyes swiveled on that fog to watch them walk in.

"Nojirou, what are you doing here? Who's this?"

The second person in the bar sent chills down Kay's back. wearing all black and a trench coat, pale gray hands that were not his gripped tight to his arms and head.

Nojirou bowed his head. "Apologies for the intrusion. This is an acquaintance of mine, Switchblade."

"That's not a name," Tomura murmured, scratching at his throat idly. "New member of the League?"

"Yes, yes," Nojirou agreed quickly. "I told her about the job coming up."

Kay frowned under her mask, noting the lack of windows and the TV that wasn't playing the news.

"Then introductions are in order," Tomura said. "I'm Shigaraki Tomura, Leader."

"Kay Isshin. I'd like to clarify something before I agree to anything."

"I don't like being questioned," Tomura growled.

"And I don't kill kids," Kay snapped. "I want in, but I want to know the plan doesn't include killing any of the students. Scare them, trap them, sure, but no killing."

"The plan," Tomura started.

The black fog finished, "is to kill All Might. While accidents do happen, we don't intend to kill any of the students. I am Kurogiri, by the way."

"Good. When is this happening?"

"In three days," Tomura said. "Nojirou knows where to meet. Now, leave. I have things to do."

Three days later

The fog cleared, revealing the inside of a massive dome. Kay, Nojirou and several others stood on the top a rocky bluff spotted with loose dirt and boulders. An area to the left looked like a mini city in flames, and there was a lake of sorts directly across from them.

Kay jumped up onto a boulder and crouched there to observe. Kurogiri had transported other villains to each of the regions, per the plan, but the main group arrived in the center of the building. With ample room to move around, it also provided the best view of the entrance.

"All Might isn't here," someone grumbled. "He's supposed to be here."

Someone replied, "Maybe he's late."

Kay searched the crowd by the doors. Two looked to be teachers: an astronaut, and an emo dude with long hair and bulky scarf. One of the students appeared to have six arms, and another accompanied by a bird like shadow.

Suddenly the emo rushed forward into the central plaza. The villains there broke formation in a flimsy counter-attack. Kurogiri warped to the entrance, blocking the exit. Kay caught a flash of light and then saw an explosion. Black fog spread over the entrance way, obscuring everything within.

At the same time, a warp formed over the rocky incline above them. The group tensed. A boy fell out, twisting to land on his feet. Reasonably tall, and well built, he had hair split between white and red down the middle and a burn scar over the left side of his face. He wore a dark blue jacket with a high collar under a combat vest, and blue pants tucked into white boots.

The air stopped for a second as he looked around at them. Then several villains charged. Kay felt the temperature drop in the second it took ice to cover the landscape and everyone else there. She flinched, frozen in place.

"You're grown-ups. Pull yourself together," the boy muttered, turning his gaze towards the plaza.

Kay breathed out and the ice on her shattered. He whipped back around, eyes wide.

She cracked her neck and jumped down from the boulder. "Pretty good quirk you got. Not as good as mine, but props."

He shot a wave of ice at her from his hand. She dodged out of the way.

"Do you mind?"

"Are you trying to have a conversation?" He asked, once more trying to encase her in ice.

She surged past the attack and kicked out his legs. "Not really, but I'd rather not hurt you."

he rolled back to his feet. "Might want to change that. I have no problem hurting you."

The next ice wave struck a wall of neon blue flames. The air popped, throwing both of them off their feet.

Kay flipped in the air and surged right back at him. He threw up a wall, but Kay broke through it with brute force and tackled him. They rolled once, with Kay pinning him face down to the dirt with one hand locked behind his back.

"You have no chance of hurting me," she quipped, twisting his arm a little.

A girl's voice sounded out of nowhere, "Get off Todoroki!" Kay looked around only to get punched in the face by a floating glove. She hit the ground, head spinning.

"Aaoow, that hurt. You okay?" The space between a pair of floating gloves seemed to be asking the boy. A pair of white shoes entered Kay's vision, walking below the gloves.

Todoroki stood up and shook out his arm with a wince. "Fine. Didn't know you were here, Hagakure."

The invisible girl giggled. "That's the whole point, Todoroki. Oh, she's getting up." The gloves positioned themselves to fight once more.

"Invisibility," Kay muttered. "lovely."

Ice exploded from Todoroki's hand. Kay clapped her hands, shattering the ice into millions of fine shards around her. The ground shook as the shockwave shot past the heroes-in-training. Todoroki covered his face and summoned an even bigger wave of ice.

Kay teleported straight up, landing on the top of the newly formed ice mountain. She gave a wave of her fingers. Todoroki scowled and began charging up the slope, creating steps as he went. Kay let him approach, taking her time to sweep her gaze over the rest of the fights. Unable to tell what was going on in the burning city, the Flood Zone appeared to have gone south fast, and the Mountain in the corner was in a stale mate.

"Typical low lifes," Kay complained. "Can't even control a bunch of kids."

"Those are your allies," Todoroki said, blasting her with ice. Kay cut the air with a hand and split the ice wave around her.

"Only for the moment," She threw up a telekinetic barrier to block his next attack. "And, oh so pathetic."

Todoroki climbed up and tapped on the barrier with a frown. "Why are you even here then?"

She returned to watching the fight in the plaza. "Information. I'm looking for a specific portal user, and wanted to see if he was in the League. Good to check out the competition too."

"Tell me the plan then?"

She squinted at him. "Cheeky much?"

Todoroki shrugged. "Worth a shot." He knelt, placing his hand on the ice. "Have fun falling."

Flames curled from his fingers, turning the ice she was on to steam. With a yell, Kay toppled from her perch. A single image came to mind in the air and wings of red with black streaks burst from her back.

She pulled up just shy of hitting the pavement and flew in a looping circle upwards. Todoroki shot an icicle at her as she closed in, scratching her face. She spun, folding her wings in and slammed into his chest feet first.

He fell, but caught himself with a slide of ice. Kay watched him descend, landing on the ice mountain once more. Her wings fell apart, hundreds of feathers falling around her.

She heard a noise and felt the air shift. Looking back up, she saw the main doors fall with a thud. Wreathed in steam, the massive man that entered lifted his voice so that it reached the whole of the building.

"Have no fear," All Might bellowed and jumped from the dias. Kay blinked and suddenly he was in the plaza, having knocked out the remaining middling villains.

She crouched, becoming invisible. As much as she wanted to watch, she had no interest in becoming a target any time soon. Especially not by a giant that moved like a speedster. He darted about, moving students and the injured out of the way of danger.

Tomura seemed to be laughing for some reason. All Might charged into battle with the strange creature called Noubu. Kay scratched at her cheek through her mask. She knew this was the plan, but wasn't sure how well it would go with most of the villains out of the picture.

"Not yet," she muttered to herself and glanced towards the open doors. A few of the students were gathered there, the astronaut appeared to have been taken out, though Kay couldn't see any obvious injury.

Kay turned back to the main fight in time to see Todoroki charging in. Two other students were there just ahead of the, one firing off a massive explosion at Kurogiri.

"Shit." Kay teleported down to ground level and took off running over the marble tiles. "Hey Tomura!"

Tomura turned slowly. In a flash of lightning, he crashed into the wall a hundred meters back. Kay came to a halt, still throwing off electric tendrils and turned her glare on Kurogiri.

"I said the kids were off limits."

"We don't follow your orders, Switchblade," Kurogiri snarled. "Noubu, kill her."

"Your mistake." Kay moved in a flash, lightning dissipating as she jumped next to Noubu and grabbed onto his head with both hands.

Noubu let out a unintelligent roar and threw Kay over his head. The direction also happened to be directly at All Might, who's first reaction was to catch her. Kay phased through him instead and rolled back to her feet a meter behind him.

A wall of ice rose up between her and All Might. Kay jumped back, glancing over at Todoroki. She sighed and broke through it, dodging around All Might. metal claws protruded from between her knuckles.

Noubu swung a fist. Kay countered, severing his arm in three. Without wasting a second, she bounced back and took off his head. Noubu remained standing for a moment as his arm still tried to regenerate before the loss of his brain caught up to the rest of his body.

"What did you do that for?" Tomura demanded, having picked himself up and stormed back over. He'd lost a hand from his right arm and still had the distinct smell of burnt flesh, but still moved well enough.

"Told you. No killing kids." Kay relinquished the claws. "Get lost."

Tomura had none of it. "How dare you! To stand there as a villain in defense of the heroes."

Kay brought up a fist, charged with lightning. "You wanna go? That was a love tap, I promise."

Kurogiri moved in behind Tomura, spreading his fog body to envelop the enraged leader. "Watch your back, Switchblade. This is not a battle you want to fight."

"Oh, get off my case already," Kay muttered as they vanished. She released the lightning with a sigh.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as All Might growled, "I don't know what you want, but I'll have none it here today."

She flinched back. "Relax. I'm not here to fight you."

"As if," a boy with spiked hair yelled, lunging at her. The over-sized gauntlet he wore glowed with power.

She took the blast on her arms, brought up at the last minute. The explosion ripped through her sleeves and scalded her skin.

"Kachan," someone yelled.

Kay ducked and rolled out of the way of a second blast from his unarmored hand. She came up and slipped on a fresh patch of ice. Looking up, she saw another blast coming.

She heard the explosion even from behind the rubble where she teleported. There was a shout of confusion and some furious complaints. Kay sat down to heal her arms and breathe. She startled at the sound of gunshots, though nothing came close to where she was hiding. A peek over the edge let her see that reinforcements had arrived.


	4. Love in the Air

Kita worried when Kay didn't leave anything in the couple weeks following the USJ attack. The news playing the story had mentioned Switchblade in passing, in their list of known members of the League. She put it in her next letter, but Kay never picked it up.

So, it wasn't until two weeks later that Kita heard anything else about her sister.

Working a late shift, closing at the Cafe with her boss, Kita had to stop cleaning up a table when the story on the TV suddenly changed from a wildlife discussion to breaking news.

"Word is coming in right now of a fight in South Hosu," The announcer said. "Sources claim this is not a fight by any known Hero. Now, Live from Andrew."

The picture switched to a moving camera in an helicopter. The scene showed a shop on fire, several destroyed vehicles in a parking lot and a fleet of police cars surrounding the block.

"I can't be for certain, Pam," The on scene reporter said, "but I'm estimating at least two dozen people down there. And they're all fighting one person. We have yet to get a good look at who it is."

"Do we know what is going on, Andrew?" Pam asked.

"About five minutes ago, an emergency call came in from a bartender saying a brawl had broken out. As you can see, Police came and cordoned off the area, but have yet to break things up. Not that I blame them. It looks like a mess from this angle. We're going to try and get a look at the Hero on scene."

Lightning crackled across the view screen. The image shook for a moment and then continued moving. The camera zoomed in, inch by inch until they could make out the masked figure moving like a whirlwind.

"I don't believe it, Pam. That's no Hero. That's Switchblade."

Kita dropped the dirty plate she was holding with a gasp.

Fluffy mouse ears twitching, her boss came over to her. "Are you alright?" they asked.

"Are you seeing this?" Kita asked.

They nodded. "Terrible. Villains attacking Villains in this day as if they don't have to worry about Heroes enough."

"I have to go," Kita blurted, untying her apron.

"Your shift isn't over."

"I'm sorry." Kita sprinted out of the cafe.

Seven Minutes Prior

Kay raised her mask into place the moment she heard them approaching. She'd stolen a phone at random that morning and was currently using it to search the internet while she waited for her food order from the sushi take-away.

She didn't know any of the five that walked up to her, clearly trying to be intimidating. One of them had a chance with his size and long spines coming out of his back and shoulders.

"Come with us," Another hissed, long forked tongue flicking out over his thin lips.

"Don't you know not to talk to strangers?" Kay mocked, looking back at the phone.

A long scaled tail slapped the phone from her hand. "That wasn't a suggestion, Switchblade."

Kay glanced around and saw a couple of civilians watching curiously across the street.

One of the thugs clamped his thick fingers on her bicep. "Move."

"Leave off," Kay complained, pulling away from him. "I don't need your grubby mitts on me to walk."

"Then walk," The musclehead threatened.

"Whatever." Kay took a step and the posse moved with her, looking like a bunch of bodyguards, but moving clearly to keep her in line.

"This way," Snake man pushed her into a parking lot spotted with cars. She could see several others standing around there as well as on the corner of the street as if they weren't waiting for this.

"Need back up to have a chat?" she taunted, shoving back and putting her back to the wall.

"You messed up," Snake man hissed.

"Shouldn't have gone against the League," another added. Kay saw newcomers gathering around the parking lot.

"We're going to teach you a lesson, Switchblade. One you won't forget too soon." That one cracked his knuckles.

"Grown-ups," Kay snorted. "So weak you can't make it so you settle for someone else's backbone."

"Punk."

"Gonna need more than this to take me on, Fart face," she said, gesturing for him to bring it.

"We got plenty," He boasted, throwing the first punch. His hand broke on the concrete wall.

Kay darted and countered; cracking a jaw and bloodying a nose. A poison needle shot by her head by inches.

She dodged a kick and shattered the offending limb with a psychic blast.

"Frag out!" White light filled her vision. As she stumbled blind, a boot hit her back, sending her sprawling into what felt like a car.

Kay let out a wordless yell. The air buzzed, shattering light bulbs and glass nearby. The clearing shapes nearby flinched back, covering their ears.

Enhancing her hearing, Kay struck out, breaking floating ribs with two quick punches. Something sharp flew over her head as she somersaulted over someone bent over the ground.

She side stepped a right hook and pulled the attacker into her space. A blob of wet, smelly goo hit him in the face, inspiring screams of pain.

Glass crunched under her shoe. She dropped into a crouch to avoid the lasso and jumped straight up. On the way down, she breathed fire down on the lot.

A couple ran screaming as they tried to put out the flames. Snake man lunged, fangs bared. She twisted, bringing up her knee for a painful kiss.

Kay ducked a boulder of asphalt. The villain with thick hands and feet compared to his stick like body reached down, scooping up the ground as if it were mud.

No one moved for a second. The scene looked uncertain with several down or hurt, spot fires all over the place, and not a scratch on Kay. She counted twenty still standing.

The door to the bar next door and a bartender froze as he lifted a cigarette and lighter.

"Get Lost!" one of the villains yelled, throwing a car at the man.

Kay surged across the parking lot, leaving a trail of blue lightning. She ran up the side of the building and swung down on the flying car with a concussive kick.

The side door slammed shut, shy of destruction by a mere two feet. The car sat on it's side, a massive dent pounded into the passenger side. Kay kipped up, standing on the side of the car and raised her hands.

The buzz of electricity descended on the lot, mild bolts shooting from her fingers. A villain evaded by climbing the wall, and another shook off the shock like a cold breeze.

"C'mon," she yelled, "I thought you were giving me a beat down?"

She ducked a clump of green goo. She back flipped off the car and kicked it over.

Three villains vaulted over the car. Kay dodged a set of razor sharp quills and spun back at a jet of flames. The third tried to bull rush her as she came around to his side. She phased at the last second, and he crashed painfully into the wall. More quills hit the pavement at her back.

Zigzaging, Kay jabbed hard at the quill user's sternum though he moved back in time to avoid damage. She stepped in, pushing him into his flame wielding companion.

They avoided falling into each other, the flame user neatly stepping in front and hitting Kay with a double stream. She threw up a psychic shield in front.

Green goo hit her shoulder, melting through the fabric of her hoodie and burning her skin. Kay curled up with a gasp, her shield evaporating. The flames renewed, burning away more of her clothes.

Form fell away as Kay turned into liquid mercury. She rushed over the cracked asphalt and wrapped around the flame user, covering his mouth and nose until he passed out. She slid away from his body and shifted out of the way of the second asphalt boulder.

Lights flashed and Sirens rose in volume as the first police car sped up to the scene. A villain let out a yell, letting loose an explosion on the car. The officers inside scrambled for safety.

Kay reformed into her clothes, complete with mask, breathing slowly. The next villain set approached.

Settling for simplicity, Kay boosted her strength and punched away. The police cars kept coming as she went for elbows and ribs. A metal bat bounced across the lot, bent in half, and it's user went down with a broken face.

A gunshot went off, but no one really paid attention. All that mattered to Kay was the next in line.

Her foot caught and Kay saw the sky, back hitting the ground. She rolled and one of the cars hit the pavement instead.

Sweat dripped off her nose.

She dodged a boulder that tore into her leg in passing. A villain lunged in with claws outstretched.

Her own claws pierced his chest. She shoved him aside.

Blue and red played over the darkened lot now in brilliance. She could hear shouting in the background.

She cut off an arm and ducked more acid. White light flooded the lot again.

Something smelled like burning rubber. She felt foot fall on her right and whirled blindly. She cut something, judging by the blood spray and pained yelling.

Weight fell on her back. She spun one-eighty, grabbing a-hold of the attack and tossing him into the air.

An explosion threw her back into the sideways car. "God-Frick-Animals," Kay grunted, tearing the fuel line free. Gasoline began to splash over the ground at her feet. Pulling with her mind, she guided the fuel out even faster, shooting it at the villains.

Most avoided being splashed, but they couldn't avoid the flames that flared up. Kay took the moment to peel off her tattered hoodie and heal the burns.

Kita almost bolted straight through the police line when she arrived. Even though it had taken a few minutes for the cab to make it through traffic, Kay still fought against the last handful of foes. Half the police on scene faced the brawl and the other half face outward, making sure no one else got too close.

After failing to get a good look with all the police lights flashing in her face, Kita back tracked to the nearest alley and worked her way around to the other side of the parking lot. A locked gate served a flimsy barrier between her and the lot, the metal dripping like water as it melted.

One of the villains registered Kita's presence but failed to make the connection between her and Switchblade.

Flames roared from her hand, a raging red at first, forcing back the attackers at threat of burning. Kita added a layer of white hot flames to the outside, forming a dome around Kay, and jumped through.

Kay squared up on instinct, eyes bloodshot and unfocused. Kita held up her hands, showing they were empty.

"Kay, it's me."

Kay blinked, squinting to make out Kita's red hair and work clothes. "What are you doing here?"

Kita said, "Helping. You look terrible."

"Don't need your help," Kay insisted, even as she felt her legs shaking from effort.

Kita closed in, pushing Kay's fists down. "Look, even if you beat the villains, you can't take on the entire police force after."

"Might as well. I'm not a hero, am I?" Kay growled, pushing back. Kita frowned.

"No, you're an idiot. Why are you even still fighting? You could have teleported out of this mess the instant it started."

Kay ran her hands through her hair. "They pissed me off. They're a bunch of useless, slack-jawed, squatters angry at the world."

"Oh my God, Kay."

"What? Going to call me a monster again? I am tired of people pushing me around, telling me what to do, and friggin' lying to me!"

Kita shook her head, eyes turning deep blue. "No, Kay. All I'm going to say is I love you. Maybe not in the way that makes sense to you, but I don't want to lose you."

Kay said nothing.

Kita cautiously took Kay's hands in hers. "Please, stop fighting. We can go to my apartment right now. You can do whatever you want later, but after you've gotten some rest."

Kay nodded after a tense moment, letting Kita hug her tight. Kay pictured the apartment and teleported. The flames vanished from the parking lot, leaving frustrated and confused villains to be taken down by even more confused Police.


End file.
